Thursday, July 28, 2011

Significant Moments: Abilities as a Writer

Years after his break with Wagner, he observed, "I pass over my other relationships lightly; but at no price would I have my life bereft of those days at Triebschen, days of confidence, of serenity, of sublime flashes, of profound moments."
     Robert W. Gutman, Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music. 
(I had no idea at the time how large this house would loom in my subsequent life)
      J. Moussaieff Masson, Final Analysis: The Making and Unmaking of a Psychoanalyst. 
Wagner liked him enormously. But completely disinterested friendship was a luxury he permitted himself infrequently. He sensed Nietzsche's abilities as a writer and wished to yoke them to his cause. 
     Robert W. Gutman, Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music. 
Certainly he was impressed by the professor's eminently articulate style. 
     Elmer Bendiner, A Time For Angels: The Tragicomic History of the League of Nations. 
The relationship between the two men grew increasingly close, and during the war year of 1870 — the high tide of their intimacy — each labored at a work reflecting this happiest time of their friendship, a brief period Richard Strauss considered one of the century's most significant moments.
     Robert W. Gutman, Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music.
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The law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld places special emphasis on a prospective associate's writing ability.  The firm stands out among other firms in this regard.

The Los Angeles office of Akin Gump offers the following description of its summer associate program:

Q: What can I expect as far as training in your summer program?

A: Summer associates participate in a variety of training programs, including legal research and writing as well as the firm-wide training event held via video-conference. Summer associates will receive challenging and realistic work assignments, with constructive feedback from the assigning attorneys.  The summer associates also have the opportunity to observe and participate in real-life training scenarios by attending client meetings, negotiations, depositions and hearings and to attend all attorney and MCLE lunches. One important element of our summer program involves summer associates’ participation in a mock trial, through which summer associates will learn important trial and other litigation skills. In addition, one of our senior litigation partners reviews each written work product in order to provide substantive and meaningful feedback to the summer associates.

On three different occasions while I worked at the firm as a paralegal, from 1988 to 1991, there seemed to arise a hubbub at the firm in the time period after I prepared a piece of creative writing:

a.  in late October 1988

b. in April 1990

and

c. in September 1991

Perhaps, it is mere coincidence, or a figment of my paranoid imagination that I have formed this belief.  Why would Akin Gump take an interest in me, of all people?

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